Kanye, Kenny, two literary festivals and the start of the Edmonton Opera season are among the many entertainment highlights taking place in Edmonton this October.

The grumpiest troubadour Fred Eaglesmith brings his Travelling Steam Show to the Arden on Oct. 6 and 7, while Basia Bulat is at the Winspear on Oct. 7, headlining the Up and DT Festival, which runs Oct. 7-9 in venues all over town. Other participants include Tokyo Police Club, Shadowy Men on a Shadowy Planet, White Lung, and Kids in the Hall member Bruce McCulloch.

That same weekend — but not part of the festival — sisters Tegan and Sara headline a bill at the Shaw Conference Centre on Oct. 8. A few days later, Ziggy Marley and band play at Union Hall on Oct. 12.

Carrie UnderwoodBrian Donogh

Country star Carrie Underwood performs the next big concert at Rogers Place on Oct. 13, while rising folk act Birds of Chicago are at St. Basil’s Cultural Centre on Oct. 14. Oct. 15 sees head-to-head musical combat between Kenny Rogers, at Northlands Coliseum, and Kanye West, who performs at Rogers Place. Who will win the most fans?

River Cree Casino hosts R ‘n’ B balladeers Boyz II Men on Oct. 19, the same night as rockers Halestorm are at the Winspear. The ’90s are revived by a double bill featuring Our Lady Peace and I Mother Earth at the Shaw on Oct. 20. Also on Oct. 20 are the Strumbellas at the Winspear, followed at the same venue on Oct. 21 by ex-Edmonton band Purity Ring. Legend-in-his-own-time Dwight Yoakam will no doubt pack River Cree on Oct. 21 and 22.

Back for his yearly visit is John Fogerty, who rocks Rogers Place on Oct. 22, the same night as Northern Ireland punk veterans Stiff Little Fingers bring their version of an alternative Ulster to the Starlite.

The Edmonton International Film Festival, which started in late Sept., continues through Oct. 8 at Landmark Cinemas in Edmonton Centre. Comedian Jim Gaffigan is at the Jubilee Auditorium for two shows on Oct. 1, while Bittergirl, The Musical, sets in for a long run (Oct. 4 to Nov. 6) in the Club at the Citadel Theatre.

The Edmonton Comedy Festival, headlined by comedian/actor Tom Arnold, runs Oct. 5 to 8 at various venues. If you’re still looking for laughs later in the month, the Winspear hosts Scottish standup Danny Bhoy on Oct. 23,

It’s a busy literary month. The St. Albert Readers Festival, a.k.a. STARfest, takes place Oct. 10 to 25, featuring writers including Clara Hughes (Open Heart, Open Mind) and Ian Brown (Sixty: The Beginning of the End, or the End of the Beginning? A Diary of My Sixty-First Year). Meanwhile, LitFest takes place in various Edmonton venues from Oct. 13 to 23. Some of the authors reading at the non-fiction festival include Lindy West (Shrill: Notes From a Loud Woman) and Neil Pasricha (The Happiness Equation). Later in the month, Potted Potter, which condenses all seven Harry Potter books into a 70-minute show, is on at the Myer Horowitz Theatre at U of A on Oct 29 and 30.

Soprano Othalie Graham will sing the title role of Puccini’s Turandot.Reed Hummell

In the world of classical music, Pro Coro Canada start their season with a collaboration featuring a group of Edmonton singer-songwriters. Stars, which sees the choral group teaming up with such performers as Darren Frank and Amber Suchy, takes place Oct. 2 at All Saints’ Anglican Cathedral. The Edmonton Symphony Orchestra teams up with guest conductor Brent Havens and singer Tony Vincent for The Music of Bowie, at the Winspear on Oct. 3 and 4, and Edmonton Opera starts off their season with a production of Puccini’s Turandot, which takes place Oct. 22, 25 and 27 at the Jubilee Auditorium.

The Alberta Baroque Ensemble are at Robertson-Wesley United Church on Oct. 23 for their season opener, and guest pianist Charles Richard-Hamelin plays the Chopin Piano Concerto No. 2 at the Winspear on Oct. 29.

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